Chidambaram for setting up war room to deal with terror

New Delhi, Apr 7 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday promised that if the Congress was voted to power, the party will set up a war room headed by Cabinet Secretary to deal with terror.

Addressing a press conference here today, Chidambaram said the war room would be a part of the permanent crisis management group.

Claiming that the Congress is the only party that can deal with the terror surge squarely and decisively, Chidambaram said the war room would function as a 24-hour watch post.

He further revealed that according to the "comprehensive action plan" to tackle terrorism, representatives of the Intelligence wings of the Armed Forces would also be a part of the group.

Regretting yesterday's serial blasts in Assam, which claimed the lives of at least eight people, he said: "ULFA has waged a 'virtual war' against the Indian state and the government has strong reasons to believe that the perpetrators of Guwahati blast belong to the banned outfit."

Chidambaram agreed that the blasts were "virtually predicted", but could not be prevented by the security forces.

He assured that the Congress is alive to the challenges posed by terrorism and can provide a strong leadership to fight it. (ANI)